Answer to Question #170422 in History for yong

Question

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOU15CQL2Mc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V6ffUUEvaM&t=327s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIoYtKOqxeU

**All three, in their own way, are disturbing viewing**

Using examples from all three videos, analyze here the path of these stories from the initial death of the black victim involved, to the broadcast of the story to the world, to the gathering of millions to demand justice. How has the media involved changed and how has it not changed? How have these unlikely heroes in these stories -- who used the media to broadcast the story changed, and not changed? And lastly, in an age of online activism, consider this: can we all be agents of the amplification of stories of social injustice, following in the footsteps of Till and Nzinga? How can we discover new ways to amplify such stories?

Answer 1

The mass media defines the public image of police, prosecutors, courts, and corrections by acting as gatekeepers of crime coverage. Fictional storylines and the news media reinforce one another by covering crime as an immediate public threat.

The relationship between crime and mass media's perception about it are essential to formulate criminal justice system. Mass media play a crucial role in public policymaking and the media coverage of crime news stories helps to set the agenda and reinforce support for punitive policies.

They found a correlation between media consumption and fear of crime, especially physical attacks or muggings. Such media representations tend to create distorted perceptions of crime among the majority of the public, exaggerate its threat and unnecessarily increase the public's fear of crime.